By Darlene Anderson

 

A New Year is here and Rotarians greeted one another as they met virtually. Then President Dean Casperson rang the Rotary bell, gave a warm welcome and asked all to join him to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and The Rotary Four-Way Test.

 

Today's Rotary Reflection by Past Assistant Governor Phil Strom focused on the worst pandemic in our lifetime. But there have been pandemics throughout human history that were decidedly worse.  Humans have managed to press on and move forward.  After the Black Death, Europe entered the Renaissance, a period of creativity and ingenuity. We don't get to choose what happens to us or what period of time we are born into. What we must do is prepare and persist.

 

Jeff Iisakka introduced his daughter Dr. Kelly Iisakka who will be presenting a program to the Club on January 21.

 

Self-reporting for the Fellowship Report: Phil Strom mailed a $54 check to the office in celebration of 54 years of marriage to Babs. Happy Anniversary!  Mike Orman's grandson Colin Stocke was selected as a member of the Duluth East Junior Varsity Hockey Team. Go Greyhounds! Jeff Fifield's daughter Meredyth started her new position as a Social Worker in Hospice at Essentia in Duluth.

 

Chair of the Day Renee Mattson introduced Dr. Jeremy Youde who is an internationally recognized expert on global health politics and international responses to infectious disease outbreaks. In 2019 he became the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at UMD. Previously he served in Australia at the College of Asia and the Pacific. Prior to that he was a member of the Department of Political Science at UMD. He is the author of five books and over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles. Professor Youde discussed with us the: “Four Lessons from the Middle of the Pandemic”.

 

Lesson 1: Today's global health systems are both fragile and robust. Spurred by the AIDS/HIV health crisis, countries have come to realize the need for a robust global health system able to respond to existing and emerging threats. As the U.S. has reduced its funding of some organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), other countries have increased their financial commitments. The systems today are in a period of adaptation. 

 

Lesson 2: Not all populations are equally at risk. There are many factors to consider including social and economic conditions along with age, race, and availability of health care.

 

Lesson 3: Viruses do not respect borders, yet borders do matter. Today people and goods move at a faster pace crossing borders and continents allowing for the rapid spread of viruses. Borders matter as governmental policies do make a difference in how aggressive or passive the response to a pandemic is and how those policies are accepted by the populace.

 

Lesson 4: Vaccines are not enough. The COVID-19 vaccine was developed in one year surpassing the record for development of any other past vaccines. But there are logistical and political challenges to vaccinating all populations. It will probably be 2023 before we see world-wide vaccination. To date the examples of a successful world-wide immunization program are for smallpox and polio which involved a global effort of many (if not all) countries working together.

 

Jeremy Youde, Ph.D on Zoom